Unfortunately this book was a total miss for me. It started out strong, but halfway through it lost steam, and I found myself skimming the last half. Such a bummer, I had high hopes for this one.

I was drawn to this book due to its timely subject matter, historical notes, and scientific angle. This story did not disappoint in that regard. It was mysterious, unfolding like an onion with each chapter. I enjoyed the plot and the pacing was good overall. The subject matter kept me intrigued and turning the pages. The ending was perfect, and kind of what I expected. The writing was good, and the style flowed well. The only real drawback was the dialogue. It felt stiff and unnatural in some instances. That might be due to the characters themselves, but it made it hard to connect with them, even though I did enjoy them a ton. However, I did appreciate the story overall. It was twisty and strange, piquing my curiosity throughout.

I really liked the beginning of this book and thought it was really interesting. About half way through however, I thought it got even more dark and twisted and it just didn't sit right with me and made me uncomfortable. The writing was pretty good and I did like how it shifted back in froth from past to present. It sometimes felt slow and like it was dragging on a little bit also. I did really like Cora's character a lot and liked reading about her. Overall, I did like the premise of the book.

i really enjoyed the use of North Brother Island as a setting, it really added to the mystery. I really think it added to the book. I look forward to more from the author.

I enjoyed this book and it is currently very fitting to today’s situation! The story speaks about coronavirus SAR and a variety of viruses, starting from 1901. A woman, named Cora is used as a ‘lab rat’ for different trials to find vaccines and cure the illnesses, throughout the book, it goes from past to present day to tell the story of Cora. It is scientific and really interesting. In 2008, which is the present day, we meet Finn, an explorer who finds himself on the island, where the adventure begins to try and find Cora and save her. Does she exist? What will Finn entail?

This historical story is interesting and full of suspense, survival, love and heartbreak. I liked that the storyline was set in a real abandoned place called North Brother Island, which is in New York City. If you enjoy historical reads with some science involved, then you’ll really enjoy this book!